A Mixed Qualifying Session for Aston Martin Racing

In the opening round of the 2014 FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC), the Six Hours of Silverstone, Aston Martin Racing has qualified in fifth and seventh in the GTE Pro class and in second and fourth in the GTE Am class.

Silverstone, 19 April 2014 - In the opening round of the 2014 FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC), the Six Hours of Silverstone, Aston Martin Racing has qualified in fifth and seventh in the GTE Pro class and in second and fourth in the GTE Am class.

The two GTE Am cars will start from the front two rows after the #98 NorthWest Vantage GTE qualified in second place, with Pedro Lamy (PT) and Christoffer Nygaard (DK) behind the wheel, and the #95 Young Driver Vantage GTE of Nicki Thiim (DK) and David Heinemeier Hansson (DK) qualified in fourth.

However, despite taking pole position at Silverstone in 2013, the GTE Pro entries struggled to match the pace of their much-improved competitors. Darren Turner (GB) and Stefan Mücke (DE) will start from fifth on the grid in the #97 Gulf-liveried Vantage GTE, following a frustrating start to the season.

“We struggled to be on the pace yesterday, but the team did a good job over night and, by this morning, we’d come a long way,” commented Darren Turner. “Stefan did a great job in qualifying and the average was decent; we are now in the right window but obviously still have a bit of ground to make up. With a change in weather for tomorrow and the likelihood of a wet race, anything can happen.”

The #99 Craft-Bamboo Racing Vantage GTE completed its first qualifying session. Alex MacDowall (GB), new to GT racing, started and was in the mix of the experienced GT drivers from the start. Team-mate Darryl O’Young took over and the team placed seventh at the end of the session.

“I was pleased with my performance for my first qualifying session,” commented Alex. “For our first GT race together as a team we have no pressure on us. We have a six-hour race ahead of us and a lot of development as a team to come.”

All four of Aston Martin Racing’s cars are 2013-specification Vantage GTEs. Team Principal John Gaw comments: “We have come here with a well-developed car and a very strong team, we just need to find a little more time to make us competitive.”